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A jury found Thursday that Toyota Motor Corp. is not liable for the death of a woman killed when her 2006 Camry apparently accelerated and crashed despite her efforts to stop.

Jurors deliberated for about five days before reaching their decision and concluding the vehicle's design didn't contribute to the death of Noriko Uno, 55, who died in August 2009 when she was struck by another motorist, sending her vehicle into a telephone pole and tree.

Uno's family was seeking $20 million in damages, claiming that the crash could have been avoided if Toyota had installed a brake override system. The jury found the 86-year-old motorist who ran a stop sign and hit Uno should pay the family $10 million, plaintiffs' attorney Garo Mardirossian said.

Toyota blamed driver error for the crash.

The company recalled millions of vehicles worldwide after drivers reported vehicles were surging unexpectedly. It has agreed to pay $1 billion in lawsuits filed in federal courts.

Foul play ruled out in hospital death

Investigators have ruled out foul play in the death of a San Francisco woman whose body was found in the stairwell of a hospital where she was a patient, a family spokesman said Thursday.

While the coroner hasn't established a cause or time of Lynne Spalding's death, investigators don't think the 57-year-old was the victim of an attack, spokesman David Perry said.

Spalding's body was found by a fire exit at San Francisco General Hospital on Tuesday, 17 days after she went missing. She was admitted to the city hospital with an infection on Sept. 19 and reported missing two days later.

Mayor Ed Lee said he was hiring an independent consultant to investigate the hospital's security and patient safety protocols.

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